


Chasing Echoes

by afropuffchan



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-09
Updated: 2010-10-09
Packaged: 2017-10-12 13:15:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/125204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afropuffchan/pseuds/afropuffchan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set a few years pre-series. Reminders of the past lead to acceptance gained in an unconventional way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chasing Echoes

Title: Chasing Echoes

Pairing: Ozai/Zuko

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: 3,580

Summary: Set a few years pre-series. Reminders of the past lead to acceptance gained in an unconventional way.

 

 

In the royal family’s private training area, Zuko practiced his firebending, hitting the scattered targets one after the other. He paused momentarily, watching the resulting fires crackle. A decent effort, but he hadn’t been fast enough. _She_ would have been much faster. He’d have to do better if he wanted to prove his worth to his father.

 

As if he’d summoned her with his thoughts, Azula appeared. She stepped out into the courtyard, her claps slow and mocking.

 

“Nice, but wouldn’t it be better to train with someone who can shoot back?” Her lips twisted into a grin. “But I suppose this sort of thing is more comfortable for amateurs, isn’t it, Zuzu?”

 

“I’m not an amateur, and don’t call me that!” Zuko shouted, rising to her bait. He shot a fireball at her that she easily deflected.

 

“Oh, is that an offer?” she asked, referring to his angry gesture. “Why, Zuzu, I’d be glad to help you train.” She fired off a series of blue blasts that had him reeling.

 

Zuko held his own against her for a while, but not long enough as he soon found himself knocked down onto his rear. Azula laughed heartily at the position he’d landed in. Fueled by his anger, Zuko sent a blast her way that surprised them both at its strength. It caused her to lose her footing and end up in a sprawl on the ground. Her face twisted in rage as she pulled herself to her feet. She soon left him singed for his trouble. But at least he’d landed a hit on her, so he deemed the pain he felt as he struggled to his knees worth it.

 

“Sister and brother training together? A rare sight indeed,” Fire Lord Ozai remarked as he entered the courtyard to approach the pair, his entourage a short distance away. Zuko quickly moved to bow from his position on the ground. He wasn’t sure how long the man had been watching. His stomach twisted with the fear that he’d embarrassed himself in front of his father.

 

“Excellent as always, Azula,” Ozai said, causing a satisfied grin to spread over her face. He paused before Zuko’s bowed form. “And a better effort than I’ve seen from you, Zuko.” His hand alighted briefly on his son’s shoulder before slipping away. “Perhaps one day you’ll manage to become a firebender that isn’t an affront to your ancestors.”

 

Zuko’s heart raced in his chest, left over adrenaline from the fight or from the brief touch and his father’s words, he couldn’t be sure. “Thank you, Father. I’ll train much harder,” Zuko answered, unable to keep the pleased note out of his voice. His father had complimented him, no matter how backhanded it had been.

 

“See that you do,” Ozai said, turning to head back inside the palace, attendants trailing behind him.

 

Azula shook her head as she watched her brother gain his footing. “You’re so pathetic,” she told him. Her grin was mocking. “He pats you on the shoulder and you act like a pet running around its master’s ankles.”

 

“Leave me be, Azula,” he told her as he stalked away, refusing to let her ruin his good mood. Father had acknowledged him with something other than just contempt.

 

*******************

 

The royal transport pulled to a stop before the large country home. The Fire Lord and his children exited amid the bustle of servants making preparations for the family. Zuko breathed in the fresh air. It had been years since he’d been here, memories of better times coming back to him. Their father’s decision had been sudden, but neither he nor his sister could complain about the Fire Lord’s desire to get away from the harried atmosphere of the palace for a short time.

 

“Thank you for bringing us here, Father,” Azula told him. “We haven’t vacationed together in ages.”

 

“You’re welcome,” Ozai answered. “No matter how busy those of our status are, we must take time out to reinvigorate ourselves on occasion.”

 

“I wish Mother was here,” Zuko remarked wistfully, and he knew they were the wrong words before they’d finished leaving his mouth. Azula rolled her eyes and turned away, but his father’s eyes darkened, his lips pressing together into a line. Zuko’s next words rushed from his lips. “I just meant that, the last time we were here, she was-”

 

“I don’t need you to explain, Zuko,” Ozai answered with clipped words. “I caught your meaning.” Not looking in his son’s direction, he walked past him toward the house. Azula followed, but not before smirking at him before she turned away. Sighing, Zuko trailed after them.

 

Dinner wasn’t as strained as it could have been given what had happened earlier. Zuko heard the voices of his father and sister vaguely in the background while he lost himself in his thoughts. The subject of his mother and what had happened to her had long since been a forbidden topic, so Zuko was angry at himself for ruining the lighter mood that had come over them all at the sudden vacation. But it was maddening not knowing what had truly happened to her. She had just disappeared and his father had given no real explanation at the time. Zuko had always wondered if she was still alive. If she’d died, wouldn’t there have been a funeral? Had she fled for some reason? Was that why Father always seemed so upset at the mere mention of her? Azula never seemed to care, but Zuko supposed that even she did on some level.

 

The drone of voices in the background stopped, and Zuko sensed eyes on him. He looked up, and realized that his father and sister were both staring at him, possibly for some time. Azula didn’t even try to hide her smirk. The Fire Lord appeared annoyed.

 

“He didn’t hear a thing you just said, Father,” Azula noted with amusement in her voice, “did you, Zuzu?”

 

Zuko glared at her before he stammered an apology to his father. Ozai frowned. “You seem so distracted of late,” his father noted. “I would have thought spending time in a more relaxing environment would have improved your spirits, Zuko, but I seem to have been mistaken.”

 

“We should have just left him behind at the palace,” Azula lamented.

 

Zuko ignored her. “No, Father, I’m glad that we came here. It’s just that I-” His words trailed off as his father’s eyes shifted from his face in favor of gazing forward. Zuko’s eyes followed his to the empty chair opposite the head of the table. Zuko almost expected to see her there, his mother dressed as she had been that day years ago, gazing at them with kind eyes, gently chiding her husband not to be so hard on his son. But there was thin air in the space that she should have occupied. Zuko turned back toward his father who wore a shuttered expression, unsure of what to say.

 

Azula chimed in to change the subject, breaking the Fire Lord’s reverie. The two continued speaking almost as though there hadn’t been an unpleasant interruption in their conversation. Zuko was thankful that his father’s ire had been forgotten for the moment. He pushed the food around on his plate, not noticing the golden eyes that fell upon him intermittently.

 

 

The following afternoon saw Zuko sitting on the beach a distance from the house, watching absently as Azula dove into the gentle current of the bay. His father was still inside, likely sipping his tea given the time of day.

 

The vision of Azula in the surf retreated in favor of a fond memory tied to this place of when he had been so very young. They had been gazing out at the bay when his mother had placed him into his father’s arms before heading inside for a moment. His father had held him close, his silken unbound hair brushing against his face. The sight of Azula toddling along in the sand nearby had faded as Zuko’s eyes closed, lulled into a light doze by the gentle rise and fall of his father’s chest and the beat of his heart under his ear.  Zuko held onto that memory years later, calling it to mind whenever the Fire Lord’s angry eyes fell on him or venom dripped from his lips. He used it to remind himself that there was a time that he too had been precious, not just his sister, and that if only he could be as his father wanted, he would be so again.

 

Nodding as he decided on a course of action, Zuko rose, moving into a ready stance. He shot a volley of fireballs across the beach into the air, the light from them making the particles of sand glint. Not satisfied, he redoubled his efforts. He had to be faster, more fluid, more-

 

“Zuko, we’re on vacation,” Azula called to him from her position in the water, “Why are you training when you should be relaxing? Come into the water with me.”

 

“I don’t feel like swimming right now,” he told her, trying not to sound as petulant as he felt. “I’ll do what I like.”

 

Azula sighed. “Suit yourself. You can’t do anything properly, not even have fun,” she said before turning to dive into a wave.

 

“Azula’s right, you know,” Zuko heard his father say a distance away, startling him. He turned to see the Fire Lord shed his royal robes and toss them into the arms of an attendant before walking farther onto the beach. The gold bands his father wore on his upper arms glinted in the sunlight. “But I can understand the draw you feel, Zuko. The rays of the sun are brightest at this time of day, invigorating.”

 

Zuko had wanted this for so long, he and his father together and alone, the usual scorn in his eyes replaced with something softer from days gone by. But now that his father stood before him, Zuko was at a loss for what to say to the man. Ozai smiled briefly, amused at his son’s surprised silence.

 

“The reason you’re having trouble is that your stance is too wide. It’s throwing you off balance.” Ozai moved into the correct position to demonstrate as his son watched with wide eyes. “It’s only when you have achieved the proper form that the power of your blow is at its peak.” He shifted forward, the golden fireball he let loose as bright and magnificent as one would expect from the Fire Lord.

 

“Yes, Father,” Zuko answered, taking up a similar position. Ozai placed a hand on his son’s hip and shoulder to make adjustments. Zuko was so taken aback by this that he almost faltered, but not quite. With fluid movements, he mirrored those of his father, the resulting ball of fire an improvement over those previous.

 

“Better, but you have much to learn if you hope to become a firebending master,” Ozai told his son. He demonstrated some further moves and Zuko did his best to learn them.

 

Zuko wasn’t sure what it was that had brought about his father’s generous mood, but he knew better than to question his change in luck and ruin the moment. Perhaps being in their family’s old vacation spot again had brought back fond memories for his father as well, visions of happier times together before everything had somehow fallen apart. So father and son performed training exercises under the midday sun, the light of it suffusing them with power as Azula did laps in the gentle waters.

 

*************************

 

Unable to sleep for reasons he wasn’t sure he wanted to name, Ozai walked the halls in the dim light. His travels brought him to the door of his son’s room. He entered silently, pulling the door closed behind him. He approached to stand near Zuko’s bed, watching as the light from the full moon streaming in through the window illuminated his face. At times like this, Ozai could see the echo of his wife in him, Ursa, who he hadn’t seen again since that day years ago. Before he could stop it, his hand had fallen to Zuko’s face, stroking the skin of his cheek. It was almost as soft as hers had been.

 

Zuko made a soft sound that caused Ozai’s breath to catch. He shifted in bed and began to stir to wakefulness. Ozai stiffened. There was no way of leaving the room without being seen by his son. Zuko’s eyes fluttered open before he squinted, pushing to sit up in the bed.

 

“Father?” he asked as if unsure of what his eyes were showing him. “Is something wrong?” he added, a worried note creeping into his voice.

 

“No, Zuko, nothing is wrong,” Ozai answered, feeling unusually awkward. “I was just… checking on you,” he finished. It wasn’t a complete lie, in any case.

 

The tension visibly seeped out of Zuko’s frame. “Oh, just like when I was young.”

 

“You’re _still_ young,” Ozai insisted, but couldn’t help a faint smile creeping onto his face. Zuko smiled slightly in response, pleasantly surprised as he watched his father sink onto the bed. “It’s true, though. I used to watch you sleep on occasion. You favor your mother, especially when you are asleep.”

 

Apprehension stole over Zuko, but he couldn’t help asking, “You miss her, too, don’t you?”

 

“I suppose that’s true,” Ozai admitted, “Her presence seems to haunt the halls of the palace and the rooms of this place. It stares at me from behind your eyes.” He frowned as Zuko gazed up at him. “You’re so much like her at times that it’s vexing, beautiful and soft-hearted, not at all like what I wanted in a son.” He watched Zuko’s expression fall as he turned away, his eyes downcast. “But when the situation called for it, she became as terrifying a creature as any I’ve ever known, committing wicked acts not to be spoken of in the light of day. I was so sure that I knew her, and yet she surprised me that day.” He grasped his son’s chin to turn his face toward his own. “I wonder sometimes what wicked things you are capable of.”

 

Zuko gazed up into his father’s glittering eyes, unable to place the expression in them. The weight of his stare caused a knot to form in his stomach. He was about to speak when Ozai began to stroke his lower lip with his thumb. Zuko shivered, his eyes widening as his father’s face loomed ever closer before lips sealed themselves to his. He froze, too surprised to react. Ozai pulled away briefly, appearing as though he were debating something with himself, judging by his expression. Decision made, he dove back in to deepen the kiss.

 

Zuko’s stomach fluttered strangely as Ozai’s tongue swept his mouth. This was wrong, so terribly wrong, and yet he didn’t dare pull away. Not just out of fear of his father’s anger, but because his father’s arms were winding around his waist to pull him close. He was wanted, perhaps even needed. As Zuko felt the heat of his father’s body through his robe, he wasn’t sure that he could bring himself to care about what was taboo.

 

Breaking the kiss, Ozai pushed the covers aside, a strange smile hovering on his lips. “I want to teach you something, Zuko,” he murmured, “something that must stay only between the two of us. But sometimes the walls have ears. So show me how disciplined you can be and don’t make a sound.”

 

Zuko nodded, sure that he could comply with that no matter what it was his father was about to do. But that was before Ozai’s hand slipped between his legs and squeezed. The moan had escaped his lips before he could even try to stop it. Luckily, Ozai didn’t seem angry. He smirked, placing a finger to Zuko’s lips.

 

“Shh,” he hushed him, “Not one sound.”

 

Zuko bit his lower lip, determined to comply with his father’s orders. But this was almost too hard with Ozai’s heated stare on his face while his hands slipped under his robe to surround his length. He began to stroke it at a brisk pace, making Zuko dig his fingernails into the bedding and grit his teeth lest he loose the groan that tried to fight its way out of his mouth. Just when he didn’t think he could take much more of this treatment, his father abruptly stopped. Zuko feared that he had done something wrong. He opened his eyes in time to see his father’s head sink into his lap. Zuko’s head snapped back in a soundless cry as wet heat engulfed his erection.

 

Barely able to catch his breath, Zuko bunched up the sheets in his hands, his toes curling as Ozai’s head bobbed in his lap. He had no idea that people even did such things, or that something that seemed almost dirty could make him feel as he did now. Unable to stop himself, Zuko raised a hand to stroke through his father’s hair as it hung loosely about his shoulders. Golden eyes opened to bore into his, but Ozai said nothing, allowing the touch. His eyes slipped shut again, and he did something with his fingers that made Zuko almost bite his tongue. Warm fluid shot at the back of Ozai’s throat, and as he slid down to the base to swallow around him, Zuko choked on a groan before collapsing onto the bed.

 

Ozai pulled away to gaze at the sprawl his son had landed in. His own erection jutted swollen and thick from between his legs under his robe. He crawled up Zuko’s body, leaning down to ghost lips over his son’s. “I wonder which part of you I should take,” he mused in a low voice. “These lips, or perhaps down here.” His hand trailed up Zuko’s thigh.

 

Zuko’s eyes glittered up into his father’s. “Do whatever you want,” he said, his mind still in a pleasurable haze.

               

“Whatever I want?” Ozai echoed, raising an eyebrow as his hand wandered. A chuckle rumbled in his throat. “You never tempt someone with appetites like mine with such words. There are a great many things that I want.” He stroked a finger across Zuko’s entrance, eliciting a soft gasp. “But I find myself without the proper preparations for that. But no matter. There are other ways to seek such pleasures.”

 

He urged Zuko to turn onto his side before moving to spoon behind him. Zuko soon felt his father’s erection slipping past his slightly parted thighs. Ozai sighed as he urged Zuko to clasp his thighs together around him, making a low rumbling noise close to Zuko’s ear as he started to move.

 

Heat weaved its way through Zuko’s gut at how his father’s panting breaths warmed his neck. Ozai wound an arm about his waist to pull him close as his hips thrust against him. Zuko found himself getting hard again at the feel of his father’s erection sliding against his own.

 

Blunt nails bit into Zuko’s skin as Ozai’s thrusts became erratic. He kissed and nipped at the skin of Zuko’s throat. In moments, Ozai stiffened, muffling his groan in the crook between neck and shoulder, warm wetness spreading on Zuko’s thighs.

 

Hesitant, Zuko touched the arm that was still draped around him. Ozai stirred, but didn’t dislodge his hand. Whether this was because he accepted the gesture or merely tolerated it, Zuko couldn’t be sure, but maybe this didn’t matter. He lay there while his father’s breath evened out as he drifted off, wondering if the Fire Lord would stay until nearly morning or if he’d slip out after Zuko had fallen asleep. He wondered if anything had really changed between them, or if come tomorrow, his father would act as though nothing had happened. Zuko sighed, putting away his worries for the moment to enjoy the feel of his father’s sleeping embrace for as long as it lasted.

 

*******************

 

The next morning, Azula could sense that there was something amiss. Their father seemed to be in a better mood than usual, and spoke to Zuko without making a snide remark even once. Though still tentative, Zuko seemed more talkative than usual, his expression bright as he managed to say something that made Ozai smile faintly. There was something in their father’s gaze as it fell upon Zuko that she couldn’t quite place, but she knew she didn’t like. Azula frowned. She didn’t care for feeling as though she were the one being excluded for once.

 

After they finished their meal, the Fire Lord rose from the table, his children following after him. Azula’s eyes narrowed. She’d seen the look the pair had shared as Ozai had passed Zuko’s chair. She fell into step beside her brother, who seemed too comfortable somehow for her tastes.

 

“You’re hiding something,” Azula accused in a low voice as she leaned toward him.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zuko murmured, his expression as neutral as he could muster.

 

“Liar,” she countered. “I’ll find out eventually. You can never hide anything from me for long.”

 

Zuko intended to prove her wrong on that score. He gazed at his father’s form as he walked several steps ahead. He would keep their shared secret. This was finally something for the two of them alone. He wasn’t about to ruin that.

 

End


End file.
